Star Trek: Ghosts of Vulcan
by HerrDr.Funk
Summary: When a Starfleet officer is murdered on a federation space station, the Enterprise is called in to investigate. The crew finds themselves drawn into a conspiracy that could plunge the federation into an all out war.
1. Prologue

**Star Trek: Penumbra war**

**Rating: T**

**Genre: Sci-Fi/Action**

_When a Starfleet officer is murdered on a Federation space station, the Enterprise is called in to investigate. Soon though the crew is pulled into a web of conspiracies that could threaten the very Federation itself._

_**Disclaimer: I in no way own Star Trek or any of it's characters. **_

AN: This is the prologue, to set everything up. For those worried about OC's don't worry, the crew takes over this story in chapter 1._**  
**_

* * *

"_-Rioters were arrested on Rigel X today following-"…"-Federation council has promised to stand firm against increased piracy along the Orion border-"…"-Next week will see the second anniversary of the destruction of Vulcan, Ambassador Sarek addressed-"…"-_**DIvI' wItlh puy net lel 'IQ!"…**_"-__Starfleet sources reported continued manpower shortages following the destruction of the Cadet Fleet-"…_

"_Two thousand news channels, nothing but bad news, and I'm too bored to care."_ Lieutenant Carol Marcus thought bitterly as she flicked off her PADD and slipped the flat personal computer down on the table she was eating lunch at. With a sigh Marcus looked down and pouted her plate of Caitian shawarma.

Marcus had made the mistake of flicking on the news while she was going over her latest tritanium purity reports for the day. The Federation, and by extension Starfleet, was going through rough times. It had been two years since the time traveling Romulan terror Nero had nearly wiped out the Vulcan race. Aside from the horrendous loss of life suffered, the destabilization caused by Vulcan's destruction had nearly stretched Starfleet to the limit. Despite losses at the hands of Nero, the Klingon Empire had stepped up its posturing along the neutral zone. Emboldened by Starfleet's perceived time of weakness, Orion pirates had stepped up slaving raids along the federation boarder. Vulcan had also been a major center of Federation research. The loss of the Vulcan Science Academy set back the Federation science division at least ten years.

This was how Dr. Carol Marcus had become Lieutenant Marcus in little under a year. She was fresh out of MIT, PHD of Organic Chemistry in hand when reality had hit her hard. Her family, while not poor by any means, simply couldn't afford to pay for eight years of university studies. To make matters more complicated with the recent Romulan threat most of the Federation laboratories had shifted away from genetics research to weapon R&D, something Marcus' didn't particulary want to do. She had never pictured usuing her degree to find a better way to kill. However with the bills pilling up in her inbox, Marcus had been forced to put her idealism aside and at least see what Starfleet had to offer.

It wasn't so bad in the end. Starfleet was still feeling the pinch from the loss of almost an entire year of Academy students in the disastrous battle above Vulcan. Desperate to recoup its losses, Starfleet was offering obscene enlistment bonuses to experienced candidates. In the letter Carol had received from Starfleet Science Division they had offered to pay off all of her student loans in exchange for a four year commitment. Not only that but she was assured she wouldn't be assigned to weapons development if she was opposed to it. Her family had not been happy with her decision, with Starfleet's high mortality rate and all, but the offer had been too good to pass up. So, after a year in San Francisco to learn basic Starfleet procedure she'd been shipped across the galaxy (with a bump in rank for prior scholastic achievements) to the fourth floor of the Starfleet liaison office at the Hyperion Designs shipyard above Deneb V.

Most of her job consisted of assisting in experiments trying to bond tritanium with various compounds to make it more resistant to stress. It was not bad work by any means, she actually quite liked the few time she was required to go EVA and over see installation of a new armor plate on the under construction ships. Marcus had found walking on the underside of the massive ships while stars and Deneb V floated above her quite thrilling. However those times were few and far between. It certainly was not what she had imagined doing with her degree. For the most part anyone with half Marcus' schooling could do her job.

Mostly Marcus was just bored. Whatever she had expected out of Starfleet it hadn't been spending most of her time double checking other peoples work. This was why she immediately looked up and noticed when her boss, Lieutenant Commander Ben Finney, exited the elevator to the common area of the office they shared looking out of sorts. Commander Finney was never the friendliest of people, from what Marcus' co-workers had told her he had wanted to be a starship captain but had screwed up his career at some point. Now he was stuck pushing paper and relaying messages to Hyperion executives from Starfleet; a thankless job that seemed to make him more sullen by the day. Even still, Marcus couldn't help but notice Finney was sweating as he stepped into the office. Marcus couldn't help but question his appearance.

"Sir? Are you alright?" Marcus asked cautiously. Finney wasn't a people person at the best of times; she wasn't going to push him when he already looked flustered.

Much as Marcus expected, Finney barely acknowledged her as he made a B-line for his office.

"I'm fine Lieutenant." He quickly said as he entered his office. "Just forgot a file I needed for a meeting later today."

Marcus rolled her eyes. This wouldn't be the first time the commander over reacted to some small inconvenience. Shaking her head Marcus picked up her PADD, called up the structural reports on the Biko and went back to her lunch. She didn't even bother looking up when Finney left his office a few minutes later and got back into the elevator.

* * *

Finney clutched his PADD against his chest while he nervously jammed the button for the ground floor. The doors finally closed and the elevator began its descent. Finney noticeably jumped when the small transmitter planted in his ear chirped.

"_Relax." _A cool young male voice told him. _"Someone will know something is going on if you keep acting like that."_

"How am I supposed to relax when you're threatening me?" Finney snapped back quickly.

The voice on the other end of the transmitter chuckled.

"_Come on Ben. Did you really think no one would notice you've been slanging info to rival companies?" All I want is a freebie". _There was a pause before the voice spoke again. "_Look alive Commander Finney, here's your stop." _

As soon as the voice in his ear said this the doors dinged and opened in the lobby of the Starfleet building. It wasn't grand in the slightest. A pair of clear double doors opened into a small marble lobby with a single reception desk. Aside from the ensign engaged with his duties behind the reception desk and a couple of people in line the lobby was empty. Not acknowledging anyone in the lobby, Finney quickly strode across the room and walked out the doors.

When Finney stepped out of the Starfleet office it looked like he had stepped into a small city built in massive cave. Lit by the lights of the city, Finney could see the ceiling three hundred feet above him. The station he was on had been constructed out of a massive asteroid back in late 2190s. Picked for its high metallic composition the asteroid had been towed into orbit and the inside hollowed out. The material mined from the inside had then been used to construct the space side dry-docks, and the administrative and living quarters inside. The whole station was kept from being pulled down to the planet by a system of heavy thrusters that periodically readjusted orbit.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Finney asked as he looked around the street. The station wasn't big enough for personal vehicles but there was still substantial foot traffic. Finney was so distracted he didn't notice when a small figure that had been leaning on the building he passed scanned him with a tricorder and started following him.

"_Head for the central shuttleport, the 12:30 shuttle gets in five. Go to the offloading exit." _The voice stated.

Breathing heavily Finney started for the shuttleport. It was not a long walk and he soon reached the shuttleport. The port itself was a squat box like building built into the side of the asteroid with an exit that opened into the central square of the city. The shuttleport was one of the busiest areas of the station. People were always coming and going to both the planet below and the shipyards outside. Finney brushed by people of all different races as he reached the unloading exit of the shuttle bay as a cool female voice announced the 12:30 shuttle had just arrived. A few moments later the doors opened and a stream of people of poured through. Finney found himself engulfed by the crowd.

"_Stay exactly where you are, I'm coming toward you."_

Out of reflex Finney looked around for who was talking to him but he saw no one he recognized in the throng. Finney was looking ahead when he felt a hand clasp his back and a small lance of pain. He tried to turn his head to see what had pricked him but to his horror found he couldn't turn his head. He was powerless to do anything as a small feminine hand reached around his side and ripped the pad from his hands. His entire body started to go numb; breathing seemed to take an extraordinary amount of effort. Finney couldn't keep his eyes open. His body went slack and he collapsed into the crowd. Concerned passersby were on him in a flash trying to assist him but it was too late, Finney was dead before he hit the ground. His body wasn't completely lifeless though as his earpiece spoke up.

"_Finney? Finney? Talk to me...Dammit!…"_

The crowd jumped back as a small bang emanated from Finney's ear as a small sliver of explosive planted in the transmitter detonated. People in looking gasped and pointed as a small trail of smoke billowed from the dead man's right ear.

Walking the opposite direction of the crowd a small figure looked down at the PADD in her hands with a grin that she hastily suppressed.

* * *

Hope I have your interest, if you liked it review!. If you didn't like it, review anyway! For those interested I will have the uploading the first chapter by the end of tomorrow ideally.


	2. Triskelion Redux

**AN:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, or favorited the first chapter. To everyone reading the prologue, itching to see what the crew of the Enterprise is up to, here you go.

* * *

Admiral Christopher Pike sighed as he read the report in his hand. It had come in four hours earlier by subspace but with his work load he had just gotten to it now. Deaths in Starfleet were hardly new to anyone. Risk did come with peace keeping and galactic exploration after all but the circumstances were still troubling. According to the brief report Lt. Commander Ben Finney had dropped dead in a crowd at the station's main shuttleport. Noted in the coroner's preliminary report, enough Botulinum toxin had been pumped into his body to kill him at least five times over. Then according to onlookers, a small explosive device planted in his ear detonated. Finney hadn't been killed in some skirmish with the Klingons or by an alien entity proving how powerful they were. Someone had deliberately targeted Finney for death. What Pike couldn't figure out was why. Finney was a paper pusher and a low level one at that. Why would someone have murdered him?

Pike looked up from the report and out the massive window that dominated the back wall of his considerably sized office. The walls of his office were a rich mahogany lined with photos of famous ships dating back to colonial Earth. But it was the large twenty foot across and ten foot high window that was the office's best feature. Rank had its privileges and the view of the bay was one of them. Looking out onto the water always helped clear his head. It was mid afternoon in San Francisco and sunlight was streaming into his office. Gripping the cane he kept at the side of his desk he eased himself out of his chair with a low groan before making his way to the window.

Pike's encounter with Nero had left him much worse for the ware. The Centaurian slug Nero had implanted in his brain had caused severe neural damage. Surgery had been able to take care of most of the trauma but some had to heal on its own. He had spent months in physical therapy afterwards. Slowly retraining his legs how to walk once more. At least he was out of the damn wheelchair he thought triumphantly with a smirk, it was almost the one year anniversary of him pushing that hunk of metal off Fisherman's Wharf.

Allowing himself his own moment of personal revelry, Pike looked down at the PADD in his hand. According to the note attached the station security chief was pushing hard to take the lead on the investigation. Starfleet didn't have a security presence on the station; Hyperion Designs ran its own security division. However since it was a Starfleet officer's murder in question they were well within their right to bring in their own investigators. To Pike something didn't seem right about corporate security taking the reigns on this one. Finney was Starfleet and Starfleet took care of its own. Walking back to his desk he pressed a button on his desk.

"Commander Park." Pike spoke at his personal computer. The standard display of Starfleet logo disappeared after a moment and was replaced by the image of Pike's chief of staff, an Asian man in his early thirties.

"Admiral?"

"Park. Check what ships we have within two sectors of the Deneb system."

"Yes sir." Park looked away from the screen for a few moments and Pike could hear soft typing before Park looked back. "Sir, the _Constitution_ is a sector out and the _Soyuz _and the _Enterprise _are each two sectors away.

For the second time in a few minutes Pike grinned to himself. The _Enterprise, _Pike knew every member of the senior staff could be counted on a dozen times over having read the mission reports they sent back on a regular basis. And that didn't even bring him to James Kirk. If there was anyone he'd want investigating his murder, it was them.

"Thank you. Patch me through to the _Enterprise._ Then contact Hyperion Designs and tell them thanks but no thanks. Starfleet will be handling the Denebian investigation."

"Aye, sir." Park said. Then the line flicked off.

Pike turned around as the window behind him turned from crystal clear to opaque black. After a few moments the blackness was replaced with a swirl of colors that became clearer and clearer until Pike had a view of the _Enterprise's _bridge. The bridge was a bustle of activity as usual but Pike couldn't help but think something seemed wrong. Officers were working both the clear standing computer panels and the consoles in the back of the bridge furiously. And instead of seeing the face of Jim Kirk in the captain's chair he saw Helmsman Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu. Pike noted that with the exception of the Navigator, Ensign Pavel Chekov, who was doing frantic calculations at a console he didn't see any of the senior officers. Where the hell was everybody?

"Mr. Sulu I need to speak with the captain, where's Kirk?" Pike asked.

Pike noticed Sulu look around the bridge as though wishing someone would step in and save him from being the one to talk to the admiral. Resignedly though Sulu got out of the chair and began walking slowly towards the view screen.

"Sir…Captain Kirk isn't on the ship right now…" Sulu trailed off.

"Why not, where's Commander Spock?" The _Enterprise_ had been on a routine supply run to Gamma II, normally that wouldn't have even required the captain to leave the bridge, much less the ship and take his senior officers with him.

"He's not on board either sir."

"Chief Engineer Scott?"

"No sir"

"Lieutenant Uhura?"

Sulu said nothing but just closed his eyes and slowly shook his head.

"Lieutenant? Pike asked with a smile on his face but he sure didn't look happy. "Where's your crew?"

"**Captain Kirk. Do you understand the rules of the wager as presented to you?"**

Captain James T. Kirk definitely did not see his day turning out like this when he had reported for duty that morning. The _Enterprise_ had been in orbit of Gamma II, ready to beam down the required fuel to the automated survey station when he, Spock, Scotty, and Uhura had been teleported off the bridge. Not beamed in the usual way mind you, it had been closer to being sucked out of thin air. They had found themselves on a world called Triskelion where captives called Thralls were made to fight for the amusement of a group of entities calling themselves the Providers. Kirk and his crew had been told that they would fight for their rest of their lives until they were killed. The Providers had attempted to get other Thralls to train the _Enterprise _crew to fight but, according to the Providers, had proven to be un-trainable. They said because of the Starfleet crew's independent streak they would have to be destroyed. Desperate to save his crew's lives, Kirk had demanded the Providers not punish his crew for following his orders and had demanded to speak with them. That was when Kirk found himself teleported into a cavern below the surface of the planet. Kirk had been shocked to discover the providers were nothing more then three multi-colored brains suspended in a clear dome. The captain tried to reason with them but found little success, that was when he changed his tactics.

He'd observed that the only thing the Provider's were interested was wagering on the outcomes of the Thralls fights. So he'd made them an offer they couldn't refuse, Kirk bet he and his shipmates could go up against equal number of Thralls in a fight to the death and win. If Kirk's crew won they would go free and the Thralls would be granted freedom. If the Thralls won then the Enterprise crew would be enslaved to provide generations of entertainment for the Providers.

Unfortunately for Kirk the Providers had not been satisfied by those odds. They proposed that since he was the leader he should put up the hardiest fight. They had changed the fight to a three on one match against Kirk. Kirk couldn't help but protest.

"Pardon me if I point out those odds are horseshit." Kirk he said in a defiant tone. He'd seen some of the other Thralls fight; they were extremely good at what they did. He wasn't thrilled about fighting them in an even match up let alone three on one.

"**On the contrary Captain"** A voice said that seemed to be everywhere but came from nowhere; sounded throughout the cave he was standing in. **"Those odds are most fair, for your alternative is death!"**

With those final words to him Kirk was once again teleported away. He found himself standing in what looked like the floor of the ancient coliseum of Rome. Most of the floor was a grey marble like material but in the center of the room was a large triangle thirty feet across from point to point. Kirk was standing in the middle of another triangle in the center of the larger triangle that was colored a dull yellow. The middle yellow had lines had lines about three feet across radiating to the out edge. The rest of the large triangle he stood on that was colored a dark blue.

Feeling a breeze Kirk looked down and saw that he had been stripped of his gold Starfleet tunic and in his hand was a spear-like weapon. The front end looked like a medieval halberd with a long dagger extending past the axe head. On the other end of the shaft was a three pronged hook.

Kirk looked around and saw that Spock, Uhura, and Scotty had been teleported to the sidelines. Kirk almost allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing that.

That relief was stifled though when he noticed his he was not alone in the ring. Standing directly in front of him was a large Nausicaan decked out in fur clothing brandishing a multi ended whip. Kirk turned to his left and saw and blue skinned Andorian wearing the leather armor of a gladiator holding a knife in one hand a weighted net in the other, both his eyes and antennae focused on the captain. Kirk completed his turn and that's when he saw her. _Aw crap! _Standing to his right was Shahna. She had been the one the Providers had assigned to instruct him personally in the ways of the Thrall. Shahna had also been in the fight the Providers had used as in an example to the Enterprise crew. Though she could not have been any older then her mid teens she was already a deadly fighter. She was also quite beautiful; Shahna had curves in all the right places and thick green hair that flowed from her head. It didn't hurt matters that Kirk had never seen her clad in anything else but a metallic silver bikini with thigh high boots and gloves to match. Then Kirk noticed she was holding a weapon similar to his in her hands with the blade pointed straight at her. _Get a grip Jim, she's jailbait and she's trying to kill you!_

"**Captain Kirk"** Thevoice of the Providers sounded out. **"You are defending. Thralls must stay in the blue area, you will take the yellow. Touching an opposing color deprives a combatant of his weapons. An opponent must be killed to be removed from the game, is that clear Captain?"**

"Yeah that's clear dammit, let's just get this over with!" Kirk snapped at the ceiling.

From the sidelines Spock couldn't help that was illogical as clearly the Providers weren't in the ceiling of the arena but he could understand Kirk's frustration with the situation.

"**Very well Captain. Proceed!"**

All the combatants began to move in unison. Kirk turned quickly so that neither of the Thralls at his back would kill him in the first two seconds of the match. Kirk wasn't surprised when it was Shahna who attacked first. She swung the axe end of her weapon at his skull but Kirk managed to bring his own spear up and deflect the blow with both hands. Then in one fluid motion Kirk spun the hook end of his weapon down and caught Shahna's ankle with it. Kirk jerked the other end of his spear up and sent Shahna sprawling to the ground. Not missing a beat Kirk pivoted to his right, swing his blade in a wide arc. The Andorian behind him had been closing in with his knife and Kirk's swipe made him think twice about it.

It was then Kirk felt a stinging pain of in his side, while he had taken care of the Andorian the Nausicaan behind him and whipped his back. Roaring in pain Kirk thrust his blade in a stabbing motion behind him and was rewarded when he felt a slight resistance and heard a howl of pain. Not bothering to confirm the kill Kirk turned his attention to the Andorian who was advancing on him again. Looking to get some breathing room, Kirk leapt from the center triangle to the yellow line on his left. The Andorian wasn't able to cross the yellow but that still didn't take care of Shahna. With a war cry that seemed out of place for such a young girl Shahna came at him with a rapid flurry of thrusts. Only Kirk's quick reflex's saved him as he fought off Shahna's attack before he parried her blows and forced her on the defensive. Kirk brought the axe end of his weapon straight down at her head. To her credit, Shahna held her weapon above her head with both hands to deflect the blow. That was the only thing that saved her life as Kirk's axe head crashed through the wooden handle of the weapon. Shahna's weapon was snapped in two but the rest of Kirk's shot was deflected by the twisting motion of he handle snapping. Kirk brought his boot up and planted it square in her stomach, knocking her to the floor gasping for air.

Hearing the crack of the whip once more Kirk rolled to his side, dropping his spear and grabbing the axe end of Shahna's weapon as he did so. Kirk saw that the Nausicaan hadn't been killed by his first wound and was coming at him once more. Without hesitation, Kirk hurled the axe head like a javelin at the fighter. The Nausicaan didn't react in time and the point of the blade implanted itself his skull. The large alien fell to the floor dead with the handle of the blade sticking out into the air.

While the odds where slightly better now Kirk realized he had left himself at a disadvantage. The Andorian had leapt into the blue area behind him and Shahna was back on her feet with _his_ weapon in hand. Seeing an opportunity the Andorian hurled his net at Kirk, ensnaring his right arm. Kirk Looked to his left and saw Shahna getting ready to throw her new spear at him.

Kirk dropped down to his knees as Shahna threw the blade, feeling the wind from the passing weapon over his head as he did so. The Andorian wasn't so lucky and caught the blade dead in the chest. As the Andorian fell to the ground, Kirk felt the net slacken and his arm was free. With no weapons left Shahna took a running start and jumped at Kirk, intent on hitting him with her elbow. However, Kirk simply sidestepped and she passed harmlessly past him, crashing to the ground. Kirk was on the girl on a flash; he clamped his legs around her torso in a scissor hold and brought the Andorian's knife to her throat. Kirk saw the girl's eyes widen in fear, expecting to die but he stopped as the tip of the blade pressed against her skin.

"Your Thralls are beaten!" Kirk yelled out breathlessly "It won't make any difference if I kill this one or not. I've won!"

There was silence in the room, punctuated by only Kirk and Shahna's heavy breathing.

"**You are right Captain Kirk. Victory is yours."**

Both Kirk and Shahna sighed in relief as Kirk withdrew the knife from her throat and rolled to his feet before helping her back up.

"**Though unfortunate the terms of the wager will be honored, the Thralls will go free."**

Kirk wasn't satisfied with just that though.

"And you'll teach them how to live on their own? To govern themselves and live as productive people?" Kirk demanded.

"**Of Course. Captain, your weapons and communications devices have been returned to your party, you may use them to contact your ship now. We have summoned it into orbit."**

Kirk looked at his hands and saw that his Phaser and Communicator had appeared in his hands. Looking at his crew with a shrug Kirk flipped open the small black and gold box.

"Sulu, you up there?" Kirk inquired.

"Captain?" Sulu's voice came through loud and clear. "The entire ship was just pulled half a parsec through space from Gamma II. Where are you?"

"I should be on the planet below you. Spock, Scotty, and Uhura are with me. I'll explain everything when we get back to the ship. Have Chekov scan for our communication signals"

There was a brief pause and Kirk heard Chekov's excited voice exclaim he had them.

"We have you now sir. Admiral Pike has a message to relay, did you want me to beam up now?"

Pike? That got Kirk's attention. As his mentor in the academy, he would never have enlisted if it wasn't for him. They had usually made it point to stay in touch. However with both of their new workloads that just hadn't been possible.

"Belay that for a moment Mr. Sulu, one final thing to do down here." Kirk said as he closed his communicator and looked ahead of him. Shahna was looking at Kirk with pleading eyes.

"Are you leaving now? I want to go with you." She asked and for a moment Kirk was tempted. He had gotten to know her during his training. Despite her up bringing Shahna was a genuinely sweet and bright girl. However she had no experience of the world outside the arena and a starship was not the place for her.

"Shahna" He slowly began, clasping her shoulders with his hands. "Where I come from is a very different place then this. It wouldn't be fair to take you there."

Upon hearing this Shahna closed her eyes and lowered her face. To Kirk it looked like she was trying to fight back tears.

"But that's not a bad thing. Providers are about to show you and everyone else on this planet things you could never have imagined. You're all about to start a new life." Kirk said reassuringly

Shahna said nothing but sniffed loudly and raised her face and nodded at him.

"I understand Captain James Kirk." She said resignedly and for the hundredth time as he flipped open his communicator Kirk wondered what it was about alien cultures insisting on calling people by full name and title.

"Lieutenant Sulu, Four to beam up." Kirk said with a final look to Shahna before he felt the familiar sensation of the transporter and disappeared in swirl of white light.

* * *

There you go. Even if you want to rant about how much you hate the story drop me a review. It's the only way I'll get better.


End file.
